Great White Shark on Maui

[Jon C]

orangelion3,

Well, its sex wasn't my primary concern at the time! :crossbone

I have a VERY, VERY grainy picture (not suitable for viewing) of it in the distance that shows it to be pretty sleek and streamlined...not pregnant. I do not recall any claspers. However, the scar may have been from a mating encounter as suggested earlier by "mempilot". One of the overwhelming images from the dive was how thick (girth) it was...like a bus!

There is an article on the NOAA sight (Archive Spotlite articles) that discusses this one and some other sightings that speculates about the reasons for their visit to Maui. It is pretty informative.

http://www.oar.noaa.gov/spotlite/archive/spot_archive.shtml

Dive well, dive safe!

 

[orangelion03]

orangelion3,

Well, its sex wasn't my primary concern at the time! :crossbone

There is an article on the NOAA sight (Archive Spotlite articles) that discusses this one and some other sightings that speculates about the reasons for their visit to Maui. It is pretty informative.

http://www.oar.noaa.gov/spotlite/archive/spot_archive.shtml

Dive well, dive safe!

Thanks for the link to the NOAA site Jon! So how does it feel to contribute to marine science? Well done! I've been fascinated with GW since well before Jaws. I've seen the video from the deep bumping incident...it's on "Air Jaws of the Pacific", a decent DVD (even better is Air Jaws and Air Jaws 2, both on the same DVD).

BTW, I'm heading to Maui in July myself! The last week I think, right about the time you'll be there. Was there as a snorkeler last September, going back as a scuba diver. I'll be contacting the shop you used for tours! Cheers!!

 

[Otter]

Hmm...I am headed to Maui during the last week of July / 1st week of August....Maybe Bruce will be back

 

[DiveMaven]

Geez, is there a scubaboard convention in Maui in late July??? We'll be there right at the end of July through mid-August.

 

[jepuskar]

I dont care how screwed up the pic is....post it...this is good stuff.

 

[Jon C]

Hey, if we all go in July, we'll scare the fish away and the island might sink!!!

Right now I am scheduled to be there July 18th through July 28th. Staying in Kihei...not far from the boat ramp. I will be diving with B&B and probably Tim in Lahaina. Lots of solo dives by hotel, too. Anyone that is there at the same time and wants to dive "5 graves" let me know. Its a great spot but I don't like to solo dive there.

Orangelion3: You will like B&B, they really take care of you. Make reservations for Molokini in advance as they sell out...small boat. 808-879-2922;
bbscuba@mauigateway.com. They are usually the first ones out to the crater.

I'll try to get a copy of the DVD you mentioned.

Otter & DiveMe: Move your vacation up a week!

Jepuskar: The picture is REALLY not very good...it only means something to me because I have a memory of it. I will consider sending it to you privately as I don't want to have a crappy example of my poor photograhpy skills spreading out over the planet.

See you all in Maui!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :shades:

 

[orangelion03]

Hey, if we all go in July, we'll scare the fish away and the island might sink!!!

Sounds like July will be all arseholes and elbows 'round Molokini...:azvatar:

We'll be there same time. I have to call B&B and ask a few questions. I want to dive, but I dont want to spend my entire time away from my girl and her daughter. I was hoping to find a tour group or LDS that would accomodate both snorklers and scuba divers out to Molokini...perhaps mooring on the western edge...any suggestions? Anyone? Kisdspot (Tim)? Kidspot?

Where is Reef's End on Molokini? Shark Condo? I have small topo/depth chart of the islet and it doesnt show those.

PS: a really good book on Great Whites is "Great White Shark" (catchy title, eh?) by Ellis and McCosker. I bet Molksmith has a copy...

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/A...6/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/103-3243358-6780631

The GW DVDs I mentioned in an earlier post are also available from Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/t...1/103-3243358-6780631?v=glance&s=dvd&n=507846

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/t...4/103-3243358-6780631?v=glance&s=dvd&n=507846

 

[Jon C]

orangelion,

My two cents....

My wife went out with me on B&B's boat to snorkel out on Molokini. We ended up diving the backwall which is considered a first rate wall dive for scuba, but can be intimidating to snorkel...drops to 400+ feet and looks it. She ended up skipping that site and snorkeling on the second dive near Maui's southern coastline...saw a large manta ray and some turtles....made her day!

Inside the crater is the best for snorkeling, but they will go back wall if conditions are right. Probably okay to snorkel out there, but it is open ocean and seeing what I saw last time; I wouldn't. There is a good chance your lady and her daughter would be the only ones thrashing about on the surface! (What's that music I hear....?)

Reef's End is the long finger of reef on the north west side. I believe the shark condo is on the northeast side...there are plenty of white tips inside the crater usually.

Anyway, looks like we will cross paths in the middle of the Pacific in July.

Thanks for the information on G.W.'s

 

[Charlie99]

Combo dive/snorkel trips haven't worked well for me. Dive boats too often are in deeper water not suitable for snorkeling. The big catamaran snorkel boats do offer some limited diving, but it's often a discover scuba sort of dive in not the best area.

My suggestion is to just take your wife and daughter on a snorkel boat to Molokini and enjoy the fine snorkeling. When I went with my daughter snorkeling at Molokini we both had a great time, and I even saw some jacks attack an eel in the Taco Flats area.

There are lots of good snorkel boats. Trilogy is my favorite for both the Molokini trip and the Lanai snorkel/island tour/BBQ.

 

[orangelion03]

My suggestion is to just take your wife and daughter on a snorkel boat to Molokini and enjoy the fine snorkeling. When I went with my daughter snorkeling at Molokini we both had a great time, and I even saw some jacks attack an eel in the Taco Flats area.
There are lots of good snorkel boats. Trilogy is my favorite for both the Molokini trip and the Lanai snorkel/island tour/BBQ.

Thanks Charlie and JonC! We've done the snorkel boats...my girl and I took Prince Kuhio to Molokini last year, she and her daughter did the same the year before as well as a trip out to Lanai. So if we cant do both snorkel and scuba together, we'll just have to plan accordingly. I'll likley limit myself to two scuba days, then spend the rest of the time snorkeling with the girls. One other thought I had was finding a local diver to buddy up with for shore dives at Ahihi or Honolua...girls could snorkel above us or at least nearby.